Wayne State University Law Student Wins Beveridge & Diamond Writing Competition

May 2014
Paul Stewart, a second-year law student at Wayne State University Law School, has been named the winner of the 2013-2014 Beveridge & Diamond Constitutional Environmental Law Writing Competition. Mr. Stewart will receive a $2000 award, a one-year membership to ELI, and publication in the Environmental Law Reporter (ELR®), ELI’s flagship journal and the most often cited law review covering environmental and natural resource issues. Mr. Stewart’s winning entry, “The Overlooked Vulnerabilities of State-Level Greenhouse Gas Regulations Under Pike Balancing and Possibilities for Addressing Those Vulnerabilities,” assesses the viability of state regulations on greenhouse gas emissions in the face of challenges under the Dormant Commerce Clause. “His paper takes a fresh look at state energy regulations under the Pike test,” said Jay Austin, Director of ELI’s Program on the Constitution, Courts, and Legislation. “It presents a nuanced and thoughtful analysis of how states can defend their efforts to address climate change under the Dormant Commerce Clause.” Honorable mentions for the award went to Carys Arvidson of Tulane University Law School, for her entry “Will the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District Impact the Nation’s Regulation of Wetlands Through the Use of Mitigation Conditions On 404 Permits?,” and Jess Kyle of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, for her entry “Of Constitutions and Cultures: The British Right to Roam and American Property Law.” Like the winning article, these two articles receiving honorable mention will be published in ELR® News & Analysis. Each year, this national competition invites law students to explore issues at the intersection of constitutional and environmental law. All entries received were judged by a panel of experienced attorneys. The competition was organized by ELI’s Program on the Constitution, Courts, and Legislation, and the National Association of Environmental Law Societies. The competition is made possible through the generous support of Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., one of the nation’s premier environmental law firms.